Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Show rights...help!!

Message

   Hello Everyone!  

I have a question about rights for a show....the way I always understood it to be was that you apply and pay for the royalties to a show, and if you are granted them, that means no other organization can produce the same show at the same time within a small radius.  

Well...our theater company is a growing organization that just produces summer shows for kids.  We have had our royalties set for this year's show...and recently found out that another organization exactly like ours has come into our town, producing the same show, in the theater a block away from ours, at the same time! I called Rogers and Hammerstein and spoke to someone who reaaaalllly did not want to be speaking to me.  She said that if they are amateur productions it doesnt matter.  

at this point I am very frustrated!!  What do you suppose I do??  Theater is really a new thing for our city...and it's taken a lot of hard work for our company to grow.  now this "out of town"  organization comes in and will most likely cut our pool of actors and audience by at least half! (which isn't a lot to begin with)  

now, I'm just assuming they hold the rights to the show as well.  Rogers and Hammerstein won't give me that info, will they?  

thanks for your help!

Author	Message
TheaterACT Walk-On Joined: 4/30/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: Show rights...help!! Posted: 4/30/07 at 3:35pm
	Hello Everyone! I have a question about rights for a show....the way I always understood it to be was that you apply and pay for the royalties to a show, and if you are granted them, that means no other organization can produce the same show at the same time within a small radius. Well...our theater company is a growing organization that just produces summer shows for kids. We have had our royalties set for this year's show...and recently found out that another organization exactly like ours has come into our town, producing the same show, in the theater a block away from ours, at the same time! I called Rogers and Hammerstein and spoke to someone who reaaaalllly did not want to be speaking to me. She said that if they are amateur productions it doesnt matter. at this point I am very frustrated!! What do you suppose I do?? Theater is really a new thing for our city...and it's taken a lot of hard work for our company to grow. now this "out of town" organization comes in and will most likely cut our pool of actors and audience by at least half! (which isn't a lot to begin with) now, I'm just assuming they hold the rights to the show as well. Rogers and Hammerstein won't give me that info, will they? thanks for your help!

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75director Celebrity Joined: 8/19/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 122	Posted: 4/30/07 at 4:04pm
	Most ameature production contracts are for "non-exclusive rights". It probably says something to that effect in one of the first paragraphs of your contract. Usually it is only professional productions that get granted exclusive rights, and those exclusive rights often include the so-many-mile-radius clause. Is this some touring company that's coming into your town to produce the same show? Are they being sponsored by a local organization, like the arts council or something? Regardless I would strive to make sure you do the best show you can, so that everyone says, you did it better than the out of town yahoos.
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Stageman Player Joined: 4/27/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:04pm
	Unfortunately with non-professional shows that's correct, there is not exclusive rights. One of the shows we're considering for the fall is "Baby" and I just found out that a nearby town is doing it in the same time period, so I suggested we do something else. I know the other director, who really doesn't want us to do it, but our producer unfortunately is digging her heals in stating we don't have the same audiences or actors. Not sure what to do at this point - the producer and I are making the decision on this one, and I hate being in the middle.
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Shatcher Celebrity Joined: 2/21/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 251	Posted: 5/23/07 at 2:49pm
	exclusive right can be purchesed by a CT(one of the local theatres did this with B&theB) but that must be done when the contract is signed. I have seen ct have show rights pulled because someother group asked for exclusive rights. I happened to 2 high schools around here last year one with AIDA and one with b&b
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